Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) — It wasn’t even close.
Gilas Pilipinas opened their South East Asian Basketball (SEABA) Championship campaign with a flourish after demolishing Myanmar, 147-40, on Friday evening at the Big Dome.
Calvin Abueva led all scorers with 22 points for the Philippines, while eight other players finished in double-digit scoring for Gilas.
The hosts were expected to make quick work of the Burmese, and they duly delivered.
The Philippines outscored Myanmar in the opening period 32-7, and that was enough to tell the story of the game.
Myanmar showed signs of life in the third quarter, scoring 17 markers after only posting 12 points in the entire first half. But there was nothing they could do to stop Gilas from running away with the win.
The highlight of the night came in the final period, with R.R. Pogoy hitting a layup to give the Filipinos a 100-point cushion with 2:55 left to play.
Wana Aung was the only Myanmar player who finished in double digits with 12 points.
Despite the comfortable win, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said that he expects future opposition to be more difficult and urged his players to keep playing hard no matter the scoreline.
“We don’t expect this kind of result at all,” Reyes said. “We expect to encounter a lot stiffer, a lot tougher competition.”
The Philippines will continue its SEABA campaign on Saturday against Singapore at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
